DLT Transaction Authorization with Separate Authentication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional decentralized ledger technologies (DLTs) conflate authentication and authorization processes, leading to security breaches and inefficiencies in managing complex corporate authority structures, as they require sharing private keys for multiple individuals, compromising accountability and increasing the risk of unauthorized transactions.
Innovation Solution
The method involves cryptographically linking separate authentication and authorization processes by using access tokens and key fragments, enabling decentralized networks to manage complex authority structures through symmetric encryption and smart contracts, ensuring each process is completed before a transaction is executed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If private keys are shared among multiple individuals for authorization, then ease of operation is improved, but security deteriorates due to compromised accountability and increased risk of unauthorized transactions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the authorization process by separating authentication from authorization. Authentication verifies identity while authorization checks permissions through smart contracts. This segmentation allows multiple individuals to be authorized without sharing private keys, as each person's authorization is independently verified by the smart contract based on their identity and permissions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces smart contracts as intermediaries between authentication and transaction execution. The smart contract acts as a mediator that verifies authorization permissions without requiring private key sharing. It intermediates the process by checking against stored permission data and only allowing transactions that comply with the authorized permissions.
2Device complexity
If authentication and authorization are conjoined in conventional DLT, then device complexity is reduced, but harmful factors increase due to security breaches and unauthorized transactions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the authentication and authorization processes into distinct operational phases. Authentication confirms identity through cryptographic verification, while authorization independently verifies permissions through smart contract evaluation. This segmentation eliminates security vulnerabilities associated with conjoined processes while maintaining manageable system complexity through clear process separation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the authorization verification logic from the authentication process and places it within smart contracts. This extraction removes the harmful factor of private key sharing by implementing permission checks through on-chain smart contract code that independently validates authorization without requiring access to private keys.
3Reliability
If separate authentication and authorization processes are implemented, then security is improved through decoupling, but device complexity increases due to additional cryptographic operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service through smart contracts that automatically perform authorization verification. Once authentication occurs and identity is confirmed, the smart contract autonomously checks authorization permissions against stored data and either permits or denies the transaction without requiring additional manual verification steps. This automation reduces the perceived complexity for users while maintaining strong security through cryptographic verification.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal smart contract framework that handles both authentication verification and authorization checking within a single decentralized system. The smart contract serves multiple functions: verifying digital signatures from authenticated users, checking permission data, and executing or rejecting transactions based on authorization status. This multi-functionality consolidates the separate processes into a unified operational flow that manages complexity through versatility.
4Ease of operation
If private keys are shared for multiple authorization roles, then ease of operation is improved, but loss of information increases due to compromised accountability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the authorization model by assigning unique permission profiles to each individual through smart contracts. Instead of sharing a single private key, each person has their own cryptographic identity with specific permission data stored in the smart contract. This segmentation preserves accountability information by maintaining distinct identity-permission mappings, preventing the loss of information about who performed which action.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback through smart contract logging and verification mechanisms that record and verify authorization decisions. The smart contract provides feedback by confirming whether a user's permissions allow the requested transaction, creating an auditable trail that preserves accountability information. This feedback mechanism ensures that authorization information is not lost but rather systematically recorded and verified.
Data Source
AI summary
One of the drawbacks of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) is the conflation of authorization and authentication of transactions on a distributed ledger. The present invention includes a highly adaptable method and system for separating, but cryptographically linking, the authentication and authorization process of signing a transaction of a distributed ledger. The present invention facilitates group authority, common in corporate structures, for proposed transactions, voting models, and even workflow decision making. The present invention supports implementation of a variety of known authorization models into a decentralized network.